a brief glance issue_54 by a brief glance skateboardmag

issue

Pane, Amore e... (Scandal in Sorrento) [ p. 38 ] / Multiple Exposure [ p. 64 ] / Dusted off: Leo Romero [ p. 82 ]

Year IX a brief glance skateboard mag / Fragments [ p. 24 ] / John Cardiel Interview [ p. 32 ]

Efrem Sapienza // Boardslide // Photo Davide Biondani [Canon]

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Skateboarding is our own little shelter, a hidden corner where all thoughts, worries, anger and stress magically disappear, a life-saver where once inside you lose touch with reality. This is the magic of skateboarding, and also one of its most beneficial aspects. Like the feeling of being on the road with a bunch of good friends, enjoying and experiencing the present moment with a smile on our faces, craving for new spots. A few months ago I had the luck and pleasure of being on a 10-day tour with the Plazaboards crew, exploring the famous Amalfi and Sorrentine coasts. The trip represented the true spirit of skateboarding at its finestâ&#x20AC;Ś friendship, excellent food, enjoying sessioning any spots we found, trying to make the best of them without complaints or big egos, and with lots of laughter. Skateboarding can sometimes lead you to circumstances that can drive you to hate itâ&#x20AC;ŚÂ but the next day you savor the positivity and the energy it gives off, and all of its arrogance and negativity suddenly vanish. Thank you skateboarding for being our safe haven. db

www.abriefglance.com

COLORS BY FLO MIRTAIN

THE NM379 BY NEW BALANCE NUMERIC CONSTRUCTIVELY REFINED FOR OUR TEAM

CONTENTS

Fragments John Cardiel

[p. 24]

Interview [[p. 32]

Pane, amore e... {Scandal in Sorrento}

[p. 38]

Multiple exposure Dusted Off:

Leo Romero

[p. 82]

COVER STORY You need big balls, a bit of craziness, and an awareness of the risk involved in order to skate stuff like this. Edoardo possesses all three. We were in Amalfi with the Plazaboards team when on the very first attempt his board fell down below, giving him instant feedback into just how dangerous this trick really was.

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An old man tried to convince Edo not to take a chance, and was so scared that he called the police and then walked away. He wasn't the only one who was shaken, in fact all of the guys present looked away while he tried it. The only ones who did witness it were Mario Torre through his viewfinder and I, while shooting the still photo. Luckily, he landed it second try and we were out of there.

[p. 64]

EDITOR & CONCEPT_ Davide Biondani. {davide@abriefglance.com}

ASSOCIATE EDITOR_ Guido Bendotti. {guido@abriefglance.com} ASSISTANT EDITOR_ Andrew Zolin. TRANSLATIONS_ Jonathan Levin. PHOTOGRAPHERS_ Brian Gaberman Reece Leung, Craig Dodds, Andrea Zandrelli, Davide Biondani, Cameron Markin. CONTRIBUTORS_ Francesco Paolo, Chielli, Mario Torre, Mark Baines, Fabio Montagner.

Edoardo Olivetti / Ride-on 5-0 grind Photo: Davide Biondani [Canon] Amalfi [Italy]

Issue 54

DESIGN_ M. Bod Ciceri {Question Mark, ink!#?}

GET ALL THE INFO at: info@abriefglance.com

a brief glance skateboard mag is a bulletin published by Fake Donkey Skateboard asd.

Thanks to Canon Italia for the support.

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Click Here to watch the video

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher.

RIDE-ON 50â&#x20AC;&#x201D;50 :

FELIPE BARTOLOMÃ&#x2030;

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Yes, a brief glance skatebaoardmag will be (also) on paper and you will find it every two months at finest skateshops around Europe.

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Ricky Davidson ........................................ Leeds Will Creswick ................................... Barcelona Kevin Duman ....................................... Madrid Jacopo Carozzi ...................................... Milano

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Aref Koushesh ....................................... Milano

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Ricky Davidson

Fs nosegrind

Leeds [ UK ]

Photo

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Reece Leung

Craig Dodds

Photo

Barcelona [ Spain ]

Fs smith grind

Will Creswick

Kevin Duman

One foot

Madrid [ Spain ]

Photo

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Davide Biondani

Jacopo Carozzi

Nollie flip crooks

Milano [ Italy ]

Photo

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Andrea Zandrelli

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Davide Biondani

Photo

Milano [ Italy ]

Bs noseblunt slide

Aref Koushesh

Photography. Davide Biondani [Canon]

Words. Guido Bendotti

We met John at the Vans Shop Riot finals in Milan and we obviously fanned out! How can you not fan out if you meet John??? He's a legend, an inspiration, and somebody that has defined the words "style" and "energy" in skateboarding. He’s humble, he’s very straightforward and he’s a skateboarder 100%...

That’s it. a brief glance

Thank you John.

It was in a Thrasher video, right?

Oh, thank you dude, it looks so clean... can I take a minute to look at it?

Yeah, I think so, I don’t remember which one, but it definitely was in a Thrasher video, I think it was around 96 or 97.

Well... it’s printed, so the perfect place for it is in the bathroom during your daily routine, you know?

DB: that’s the only Big Brother magazine without a date, but looking at the ads, it seems to be around that time.

Hahahahahaha... ok, I’ll read it later.

Sick!!! Now I’m trippin too! We’ve got to ask Dave Carnie, I have to ask him ‘cause I’m trippin’ right now and I have to find out what year it was.

DB: Well... I found this copy of Big Brother in my archive… so, well... could you sign it? Of course… how did you find it??? SO RAAAD, it’s in good conditions, too. GB: The editor-in-chief is kinda obsessed with printed magazines, hahahahahahaha. Hahaha... well worth it... where should I sign? Wherever you want, John!! It’s so cool that you have it. I remember this day, man! I was with Bob (Burnquist), Tobin Yelland, and it was the first day at the ramp. I just saw the gap and thought, “Oh, I got this.” So I started trying to jump over the gap and I hung up with my truck on one. OOOOUCHHH!!! Yeah... hahahaha, I destroyed myself, but Bob went back and did it, he put it down. He can do whatever he wants.

Well... I forgot to bring my copy of Big Brother with your interview for the 1992 SOTY, that was brilliant! Ohhh cool, I remember that. You made fun of snowboarders in that interview, like, “Snowboarding is too easy! Just go fast and throw yourself around, and somehow you’ll find a way to land on your board.” Hahahahaha! You know, it’s still almost true today, you know there are some guys who are on some other level... jumping off cliffs, but back in the days I was like, “Who do you think you guys are?” (referring to the snowboarders). “Oh, I’m a pro snowboarder, I’m the shit!” Well guys, kids out there are throwin’ themselves into kickflip bs lipslides down rails, and jumping down big gaps with skateboards… who do you think you are? My approach to snowboarding was like, “I’m skatin’ in the snow,”

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John, how are you? This is for you, our calendar and book.

doin’ tricks like it’s skateboarding (editor’s note: you can check youtube to see that John was a fuckin’ legit snowboarder). I got pneumonia by imitating you. I saw you in videos snowboarding in t-shirts... so me and my friends went to the Italian glacier in January wearing only long sleeve tees. “If Cardiel is snowboarding in a t-shirt, we’re doing the same!” Well... we were dumb. AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! I love it dude... hahahahahahaha! Well, it was filmed in California during the Spring sessions, hahahaa... we’re skaters not skiers, hahahahaha. Well, I love those sessions in late Spring , early Summer in California, ‘cause the snow is slushy, and you can fall and the snow is so soft, or you can slash the snow. Powder obviously is the perfect snow, but it’s so limited, with slushy snow you can have almost the same feeling and still have fun! Well, sorry for the pneumonia, hahahaha. You’re stronger now. Yeah, kind of, but still dumb... hahaha. Well, talking about the infamous AntiHero, which by the way is everyone’s favorite company, what do you do for them?

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Well, it’s Julien Stranger’s baby, but we communicate on everything, see how things are goin’, discussing graphics and projects. We started it together, and that’s the vibe it’ll always have. We’re very aware of what’s going on. We share the same vision, but basically Julien is in control of it, he’s doing the ads and it’s his way of expressing himself. He’s the captain of the ship and guides it in the direction that he wants, but we’re best friends and we collaborate on everything, and we’re honest with each other, like, “Well, that shit is wack.”

We can tell each other what we think about things, it helps to create a direction. My energy... all of my life is involved in it, AH represents me, and I want it to be in a certain way. If I’m not friends with someone, there’s no point. How’s dealing with Julien? He looks so elusive and serious, but basically, we really don’t know. Doesn’t he ever tighten his trucks at all? Hahahaha! Ahahahaaha, they’re soooo loose, always!!! It’s crazy, ‘cause he skates the hills of SF with those trucks. His trucks can fall apart, hahaha! On a human level he’s great! Honest and straight up. Talking about AH and the 2018 ads… a lot of people didn’t get the irony behind them... The truth of the matter is that in skateboarding right now there are sooo many new companies comin’ out. We can’t beat them, so we’ve joined them... hahahaha. It was a joke, and we had some fun with it. You know, it’s our company, so we can have fun with it, we can turn some people pro on Dogshit skateboards and give boards to our friends, like T MO and Arco are pros now, hahahahahahaha! You’ve seen all types of skateboarding, in your opinion who’s the most underrated skateboarder? Somebody who never got what he deserved... Woooow , that’s tough. I need a minute. Well, right now I’m thinking about Raney Beres, he’s exposed and he’s out there, but you have to witness it in person to comprehend his skateboarding, you have to feel his energy to appreciate his skating. I would say Raney. You’ve seen him skating in video, but you always want more from him.

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Melon transfer 1997

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Yeah... that’s kinda hard. His foot is fucked up right now, but I want something from him too. But Raney, you can feel his love for skateboarding, it’s sooo thick. Is there anybody that you want really badly on Antihero, but for some reason it just never happened? Pedro Barros, fuck yeah, I want him on AH!! He’s one of my favorite skaters, and he’s fucking amazing. He rides for fuckin’ Pocket Pistols, he’s loyal, he’s the best. I’ve never asked him, but I think we’re not good enough for him, hahaha. He’s just too good. Everybody wants to ride for you!!! Nooo man, c’mon, it’s hard to believe that... we’re just doing our thing… the most amazing thing about him is that he’s so solid. He would say “no” right away, ‘cause he rides for Pocket Pistols, and he wants to ride for them. It’s fuckin’ beautiful, he’s loyal, and I appreciate that.

50-50 grind 1997

During your long career you’ve done tons of amazing stuff, but is there a trick or a session that is monumental for you? Something that still amazes you... like you know, the gold rail, the 540 in the snowstorm in Ringstrassen, or the 360 in Marseille... Well, definitely the bs 360 in Marseille. DB: I was there. Cool, I’ll tell you why: I broke my board right in the middle during the run before, so I had to stand perfectly on the trucks. I had to make the trick with the worst foot position, it was so hard to do, but somehow I landed it. I was so proud of myself, ‘cause I did it on a broken board. It was a good vibe! You know, at the time only Danny Way had done an air on that gap, so I was psyched, like, “Danny Way is the only one who has done an air here, so I wanna try a bs 360 to fuck him up!” Hahahahahaha! Now the classic question: skateboarding and the Olympics... Oh fuck... that hurts my feelings. I don’t really like sports people, and running for gold medal, that’s not skateboarding to me. I’ve been to contests, my sponsors would send me there, but I was never there to win, I was there to skate and try my best, get hyped, you know? The only thing that I wanna see in the Olympics is the highest ollie challenge!! Thank you John!

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I want more from Julien…

Words Mario Torre / Photography Davide Biondani

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PLAZABOARDS EXPLORING THE COSTIERA AMALFITANA & SORRENTINA

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“PANE, AMORE E…” IS A MOVIE FROM 1955 THAT TAKES PLACE IN SORRENTO. IT MUST HAVE KEPT ME COMPANY FOR AT LEAST A FEW SUNDAY AFTERNOONS SPENT ON THE COUCH, HALF ASLEEP. WHILE WATCHING IT, YOU'D NEVER THINK OF SKATING THERE. THE FILM IS OLD OF COURSE, BUT IN GENERAL THE SORRENTINE AND AMALFI COASTS DON'T INSPIRE MUCH SKATEBOARDING, WHETHER IT IS BECAUSE OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY CENTERS AND CONSTANT FLOW OF TOURISTS, THE TRAFFIC, OR BECAUSE GETTING THERE AND MOVING ABOUT THE NARROW, WINDING ALLEYS IS NOT THAT EASY.

Edoardo Olivetti // Fs ollie This year Plazaboards turns 15! God, 15 years is such a long time! Especially if I think back to the day I got the idea of starting this incredible adventure. We had been thinking about a special tour to celebrate these 15 years, so I said to myself: "Why travel far to find the usual spots in some distant city and not take advantage of what there is in the immediate surroundings?"

{

And the idea of a tour on the Costiera, right near my house, was the first and most spontaneous one we had.

}

The Coast is an incredible place, with a series of small and large towns overlooking the sea, some of which are located right near the beach, while others still are perched up on vertical rock walls, above breathtakingly beautiful bays. Amalfi, Positano, and Sorrento are its most famous locations to which people travel to from all over the world, and from which they leave for the island of Capri, situated just

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across the water.

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Pietro

BontĂ

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Pop shove-it

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Ruben Luzzato // Hippie jump body varial

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Ale Benedetti // Kickflip backside tailslide

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Edoardo Olivetti // Ride on bs tailslide

And what does the Costiera have to do with a skate tour? Absolutely nothing, ha ha! That was exactly the interesting part of the mission, searching for spots to skate without knowing what to expect in a place that you know has very little "friendly terrain" to offer. But we have never liked simple things. What made this tour special was the connection among the boys, having them all together for a week, seeing the atmosphere among them, and seeing the team taking on the shape you had always wanted it to... is something that makes you feel satisfied and happy about your creation. Reflecting on the days spent driving along the coast or pushing through narrow alleys to find the most hidden spots, reflecting on the landscapes and vibes of those unique locations, or on the dinners (masterfully cooked by Giangi) in good company, with endless laughter mixed in with impromptu Instagram live streams, is something that makes you want to ring up the boys, jump in the car, and travel back there immediately. And waking up with the sea tapping on the balcony every morning is definitely somethin' else.

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Happy Birthday Plazaboards!

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Efrem Sapienza // Fs crooks

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Pietro BontĂ // Fs 50-50 grind

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Mattia Marangon // Fs tailslide

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Efrem Sapienza // Bean plant into the bank

Sergio Pontillo // Ride-on bs lipslide

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Efrem Sapienza // Ollie up to boardslide

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Click Here to watch the video

The following images were not merged in Photoshop. Instead they were created in-camera on my Canon DSLR. +3

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Photos & words | Cameron Markin

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Little to no post-production has been applied (some contrast and sharpness adjustments). The merged image was always shot at the same time as the corresponding skate photo. From the moment I discovered how to properly utilise this feature I was obsessed. I really appreciated the fact that it replaced the control you have shooting digital with the feeling of uncertainty and inconsistencies experienced when shooting film. My first couple attempts simply celebrated the aesthetic of overlaying 2 images and the options that came with. Eventually though, as I developed my techniques and became more familiar with what was possible, I looked to use the second image to tell more of a story. For every 1000 words a skate photo tells thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often 2000 more left untold. This is my attempt at sharing some deeper insights.

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Urban Mashy | Step up bs tail

Just in case skating vehicles and vehicle counterparts couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get any more aesthetically pleasing, the owner of this perfect step-up ledge (heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d probably call it a trailer) kept it in immaculate condition with some freshly polished chrome rims. Spots on wheels? Yes please!

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Dylan Monk | Hill bomb

After the original multi-exposed frame of Fardell’s feeble, the function laid dormant in my camera for an entire year. That was until Dylan Monk and I were bored at home one day trying to think of something to pass the time. There’s a really gnarly hill bomb two streets from my house and without even eyeballing it properly Dylan claimed he wanted to bomb it. This was the first time I preplanned what I was going to shoot for the overlay frame. I’ve often struggled in deciding whether to shoot a hill bomb from the top or bottom, this time I didn’t have to decide and it’s a cool reminder that the end of any journey up any stupid hill can be followed by one hell of a hill bomb if you’re game.

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Charles Fester | Halfcab

Shot in the suburb of North Sydney, just 5 kilometers from the CBD. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not somewhere thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appreciated for its architecture nearly as much as its CBD counterpart. Although on this day I noticed a couple beautiful skylines that I figured would look interesting if I could incorporate them.

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The one I settled on features the futuristic glass of a modern office building adjacent to a nod to the history of the place in the form of an old clock tower.

Mark Rowe | Fs kickflip

If you were to curate a list of the stereotypically most enthusiastic hecklers of skateboarding, tradies would be at the top of the list. You can be sure that while skating in Australia, if you hear a, “fuck yeah brother, this shot!” yelled from a passing vehicle, the culprit will be driving a van or ute wearing a hi-vis shirt and smiling ear to ear. This spot is a recycling plant and I guess the boys driving their garbage truck past mark’s fs flip out of the kicker and over the wall were excited for anything to break the monotony of the trash business. Cheers for the support hombres.

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Blake Harris | Fs boardslide

This building is very synonymous with government houses in Australia and I think around the world in general. There’s two things you’re often likely to find afoot these stark Lego-like buildings, skate spots and trouble.Although we were lucky enough to not meet with the latter this day, I’ve heard of and experienced enough sketchy shit at this and similar places that you never forget where you are while shooting nearby.

Jack O’grady | Wallride

This one has danger written all over... literally.

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Lewis Wood | Fs nosegrind

Sydney’s Martin Place has forever been iconic within skateboarding and it was an easy decision to pay homage to the place by including the ‘Martin Place’ sign in the frame. Since Lewis did this nosegrind, the city of Sydney has been redeveloping Martin Place and a few of the skate spots within have already fallen victim or received facelifts. The Prudential double set was the first to go (article in an earlier online ABG). With the fate of Martin Place’s future unknown, it’ll always be special looking back on all the memories shared within. +3

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Josh Jones | Slappy bs smith

You know those trips, crazily productive trips, when you’ve only got a few days and everyone seems to be making the most of every hour of the day? This was not one of those trips. With a long weekend on the horizon I was convinced by some good friends (all pictured) to make the 10-hour commute from Sydney to Melbourne so we could skate for 3 days and return. Between injuries and partying this was the only photo I shot that weekend. On our last morning Josh pulled this slappy bs smith out while the boys heckled support in their best attempts to distract from certain hangovers.

Ryder Lawson | Fs lipslide

Ryder is fucking gnarly. Not only was he riding a board thinner than 8” with tight trucks for this 14 stair lipslide, he proceeded to land it on a homie’s 8.25 with loose trucks after he broke his own board after multiple stomps. You’ll never cease to amaze me Ryder.

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2005

Frontside bluntslide

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Photography: Brian Gaberman (color) & Davide Biondani (black&white).

“I was asked to write a caption for this photo of me doing a front blunt that was shot by my friend Brian. I don’t really remember much about this day (I have a terrible memory), I don't even remember landing this trick. Davide assured me that I did in fact land it. So the only details I have are that this was my first trip to Italy and I’ve loved it there ever since. Thanks for having me in the mag Davide!”

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Leo

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It was a cloudy day in early Autumn of 2005 and I received a phone call from a friend asking me if I could join the Emerica guys that had just arrived in town and had a few free hours to chill. I met them at our local DIY skatepark up in the hills.

when he was ready for the fs bluntslide, Brian Gaberman and Jon Miner set up to capture it in the best way possible. Miner was filming with a Sony VX1000 while Gaberman was shooting with a Hasselblad, and both with fish eyes, of course.

The sky was covered by black clouds and the place looked really sad and gloomy. I mean, some of the top pros in the world were at our small local park on the greyest day of the year, but surprisingly, they were super hyped to skate and the whole crew spent an hour enjoying it there.

The Hasselblad fish eye was (and still is) a magical lens, it was super popular at the time, so let's just say that it was the standard for photographers who would spend all their money to buy it.

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They then asked us whether there were something to skate in the area so we stopped by a rail with a short run up that used to be a hot spot at the time, before the staircase's structure collapsed. Leo tested the rail with a bunch of tricks and

Yes, apart from being magical and heavy to carry, it was also super super expensive and hard to find second-hand. Being that Brian Gaberman has always been my favorite skateboard photographer, I was super excited to have the chance to meet him and watch him in

action. To be truly honest, I was more hyped to see Brian shooting than Leo trying his amazing trick... ha ha ha. The photo was published in Skateboarder Magazine and I was so amazed by it that it still is one of my all-time favourite skate photos: the light, the Hasselblad fish eye, the spot, the skater, and of course the photographer who shot it. A few years ago we ran an interview with Brian Gaberman in a brief glance, so I decided to ask him if he could send us this very shot, but it never made it into his feature. I guess now is definitely the right time to use it. Thank you Brian and Leo! DB.

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Issue 54